The reactive suspension system pioneered by Lotus has been banned for the 2012 season, according to reports.

Lotus hoped to steal a march on its rivals with the concept, that regulates ride height under braking, but sources emerged on Friday that the FIA sent a note to all teams that the device was no longer considered legal.

Ferrari was one team that was looking into the legalities of the device that was thought to have found a loophole in the regulations as it is reactive to brake torque and not driver activated.

But Williams chief operations engineer Mark Gillan was quoted on Friday night that he had received a note from the FIA saying that the system had been outlawed.

"The FIA has just banned that particular type of system," Gillan told The Flying Lap. "We have been investigating that type of system for a while. It obviously has an impact on the aero platform of the car, [and] anything that gets the front ride height lower is beneficial from an aerodynamic perspective."

Gillan was speaking straight after the FIA issued the directive, and confirmed that he had not had time to examine it fully.

Lotus will launch its 2012 challenger at 1700 CET on Sunday February 5 ahead of the Jerez test, the same day the team's new website will go live.

Kimi Raikkonen will then take to the wheel of the new car for the first two days of the pre-season test before handing over duties to team-mate Romain Grosjean for the remaining two days.